Chapter 7: Omelette Rice
A warm marshland spread out south of the Eastern Continent. In that place, there lived monsters called lizardmen. Their appearance was halfway between a lizard and a human with a very robust body, and they have the characteristic of being able to wrap themselves with water using magic. The lizardmen have used the swamp as their domain since ancient times and have continued to live there using only the giant lizards, crocodiles, birds, and fish living there as their nourishment.
And finally, one of the lizardmen living in that swamp, a proud hero of the blue-tailed clan, Gaganpo was, for the sake of going on a special day that came once every seven days, cleansing his body that was dirty after hunting.
He washed his body with the pure waters of the washing area that was made close to the side of the community. Moving through the mud while carrying their handmade stone axes and stone spears, the lizardmen’s bodies, which excelled at bringing down prey before they could sense that something had happened, were usually covered in large amounts of mud. Today like always, he was filthy from taking down a large crocodile. Using the spring water coming from the washing area, he cleaned his body.
As the mud fell to the ground, Gaganpo’s body was revealed. Gaganpo, as if to see if his body was clean and to warm up his body from the cold bathing water, spread his large body to the sun and took in the sun’s rays.
What the sun shone on was a body that was one head taller than normal lizardmen with well-trained muscles. Able to repel a blow from a dull human’s iron sword, his skin was covered with green scales with a touch of blue and scars here and there. It had been eight years since he had hatched out from an egg, and Gaganpo, whose body was in the middle of its prime and filled with the combat knowledge and youthfulness akin to all lizardmen, was a man of valor who had faced many perils and survived, and to him, these scars were an important symbol of that.
After cleaning his body with spring water, he wiped down his body with a towel weaved from plants that were grown under the water. When he looked and saw that his scales reflected light and slightly glistened, he was satisfied and went to go armor himself. His armor, which was just washed and dried, was made from the hide of a hydra that was brought down by the tribesmen that he himself had led. He put on the simply made armor which was st.u.r.dier than the armor worn by the high-grade human warriors known as ‘knights.’ He didn’t bring along his favorite spear that was fixed with polished black rock. Long before Gaganpo was even born into this world, there was an oath that in the cathouse’s next world, weapons and fighting were prohibited.
“This should do it.”
Looking at the reflection casted off from the surface of the water as the ripples died down, he cleared his throat and nodded. The preparations for going to the cathouse’s other world were taken care of. The time was suitable, around the time the sun was directly above him. Gaganpo took in a single breath, and like the animal called a horse that humans often used, he quickly ran to the cathouse’s door located in the community’s plaza.
At the plaza, there was the elder and head of the community, with a height that was quite shorter than Gaganpo’s and tattoo’s covering her whole body to show that she was a believer of the deep blue G.o.d of water, and the lizardmen in the village who were waiting for Gaganpo’s arrival as if it could be at any second. When the tribe’s hero came back to the village, they struck their tails to the ground and let out the sound of welcoming. Hearing the reverberating sound of the tails, Gaganpo headed to the very center of the plaza.
“Elder. I have finished preparing.”
“Umu. Then set forth, hero.”
The female elder, who had a long life of twenty years when compared to lizardmen and was almost three times Gaganpo’s life, gravely nodded and urged Gaganpo.
“Gaganpo! Bring these the silver rocks, copper rocks, and plates with you!”
While the children who were about one year of age looked at him with eyes glittering with expectation, they handed Gaganpo a back filled with round flat silver and copper rocks, which they received from the human merchant tribes living outside of the marsh by trading crocodile leather, and thoroughly maintained large wooden plates.
“Umu. Thank you.”
Taking those, it was finally time for Gaganpo to head to the other world. He stood at the altar, which was decorated with beautiful stones and flowers that were painstakingly gathered from the wetlands, where the black door would appear.
He had heard that the black door first appeared before the elder was even born. Suddenly, the black door materialized where the altar was today.
At that time, the person who would plunge into that door that led who knows where was the hero of the blue-tailed tribe, Gerupa, who was said to be the strongest. He went over to the other side, had the miraculous encounter with ‘Cathouse’s other world,’ and brought back the wonderful food of the other world.
After that, the black door showed itself once every seven days, and once a year, the community would hold a festival to decide who was the strongest man in the tribe was. It became a custom that the strongest man, as the hero, would head to the cathouse and bring back the other world’s food.
“Well then, I’ll be heading off.”
While taking the hopeful eyes of the female children on his back, Gaganpo opened the door. While hearing the sound of ringing, Gaganpo pa.s.sed through the door and entered the cathouse’s other world.
“Welcome.”
“Mu. Here.”
The other world’s lord… nodding at the owner’s word, Gaganpo returned the greeting. With the other world’s magic, the lizardmen’s language would be translated into the human language or more precisely the other world’s language. Thanks to that, Gaganpo could talk with the owner even easier than the humans living on his side.
“Omelette rice. Extra large. Omelette, three of them, to go.”
While he lowered his hips into a chair with a flump, Gaganpo handed the wooden plates to the owner and spoke these words like always. The hero who first came to this area heard from the other world’s lord about the meaning of the word ‘order’ which carried the meaning that you wanted the other world’s food. After that, Gaganpo and the other lizardmen were able to get the other world’s delicacies in exchange for the silver and copper rocks.
“Understood. Please wait for a moment.”
Sure enough, the owner nodded, took the wooden plate, and headed to the back of the restaurant.
After that, while waiting for the food, Gaganpo moved only his eyes as he looked at the interior of the restaurant. Since it was just about lunchtime, there were many people inside of the restaurant such as elves with pointed ears, dwarves with their short height and hair growing out from their chins, and finally humans, who were unlike the other two, were sitting in chairs.
They were the same as Gaganpo in that they came to the other world by going through a door and fellow residents of the same world Gaganpo was from. According to the human merchant tribes that the lizardmen traded stones and hides with, outside of the marsh that Gaganpo lived in, there was apparently a wide, wide world spreading out there. To Gaganpo who knew nothing but the marsh where he lived, it was something he couldn’t imagine.
But, as he pa.s.sed through that door, Gaganpo understood the spectacle that door didn’t only appear before his people. They also were eating the other world’s food as if it was truly the most delicious thing ever. Their origins and race might be all over the place, but their goal was the same. Because it was such a place, there were never any fights that could spill any plates.
“Thank you for waiting. As for your omelettes, I’ll hold on to them until you have to go back.”
“Mu. Leave it to you.”
And then, Gaganpo had finally come face to face with the other world’s food. A vivid red line was drawn over the wonderful yellow dish. Coming from the thing called ‘omelette rice’ was the scent of the drifting smell of fried eggs causing the sound of gulping to ring out in Gaganpo’s throat, and Gaganpo excitedly took the sparkling bright spoon into his hand.
“Itadakimasu.”
Letting the out a word from his mouth that was a prayer said before eating that was pa.s.sed down in the other world, he lifted up his spoon. Easily cutting into the eggs that were so soft that it seemed like it might sink upon itself, and from the cut part, he saw plenty of red stuffing. Inside of the dish were tiny grains which made up the orange stuffing that had a trace of red to it. With that, there were emerald green beans which made a vivid contrast. Salted bird’s meat. Otherworldly mushrooms and vegetables that were impossible to harvest in the wetlands. All of that was finely minced and turned into one ingredient which was then wrapped up by yellow eggs.
This was the other world’s cooking.
While he felt that, Gaganpo brought the spoon which was small to him as a lizardman to his mouth. On top of the spoon were the many ingredients that have become one ma.s.s.
“Mu.”
Thirty years ago when the when the chosen hero of the village pa.s.sed through the door, the same delicious flavor from that time when they first tasted it spread out in Gaganpo’s mouth. First, what he tasted at the beginning was of course the fried eggs. Just how exactly it was made to be this way was unknown, but it had an exquisite softness that the lizardmen couldn’t reproduce no matter how many crocodile eggs they used. It had the flavor of milk and b.u.t.ter, and while having a firm saltiness, it had a slight sweetness to it. And what raised the flavor of the soft, light eggs was the sour red thing covering it. The combination of eggs and this sour, red substance gave birth to a splendid flavor. Just the red substance and the eggs alone would be a treat to behold.
Next, what came was the deliciousness of the stuffing. The chicken’s meat which was salted as if to prevent it from spoiling let out meaty juices filled with saltiness as he continued to bite into it, which then coated the thinly cut otherworldly mushrooms’ flavor.
The other world’s vegetables were finely minced and sautéed which made them take on some sweetness, and the orange-colored grains softly caught that complicated seasoning and wore over itself. Those orange grains took all the flavor of the ingredients and mixed them into one whole flavor.
That flavor made Gaganpo absentmindedly narrow his eyes as he swallowed. Bliss came from one mouthful, but that was not the end. Because there was still plenty of omelette rice left.
Hurriedly, Gaganpo started to move the spoon in his hand. The large plate which was bigger than all the other customers in the restaurant that held the large serving of omelette rice soon faded away.
“Mu. Seconds.”
“Coming up.”
Before it ran out, he ordered once more of the same thing.
From the first that he tasted it three years ago, Gaganpo had become a prisoner to this flavor like every other hero. Before long, the meal was over and Gaganpo let out a sigh of satisfaction. Having satisfied his stomach, he basked in the silent feeling of joy.
“Gochisousama.”
Letting the out a word from his mouth that was a prayer said after eating that was pa.s.sed down in the other world, Gaganpo waited for the owner to come.
“Okay, thanks for waiting. Three party-sized omelettes to take back, right?”
“Mu. It’s here.”
As if he was waiting for Gaganpo to finish eating, the owner put the omelettes ready for ‘take-out’ on the wooden plates that Gaganpo brought with him and put them on top of the table. What was on top of the plate was large serving of the egg dish known as omelettes. A total of three of them were to be brought back as a souvenir to his tribe, and they were lined up and wrapped in a clear, mysterious hide.
“Mu. Payment.”
As he saw that and nodded, Gaganpo took the bag that he brought with him and opened it, showing the owner the silver and copper rocks inside. The owner was someone well informed so he took the exact amount of payment from the bag and returned the nod.
“Come again.”
At the sign of those words, Gaganpo closed the mouth of the bag and uprighted himself. To Gaganpo and the others, the silver and copper rocks weren’t any better than the rocks that they used to make their armaments. Although he thought that, the owner wanted silver and copper rocks more than the fish that they dried to make it last longer, the cutlery made from black rocks, crocodile hide, or ‘anything of value,’ therefore they exchanged the silver and copper rocks instead.
“Bye.”
As he said that, Gaganpo lightly lifted the plates with the food… the plates that the owner could only carry out one serving at a time. There was one plate in this right hand, one in his left. And finally one in his tail. Lightly carrying a total of three plates filled with large, heavy servings of omelettes, he headed to the door in a safe manner.
“Well then, until next time.”
“Mu.”
While giving a nod to the owner who opened the door for him, Gaganpo headed outside. What he arrived at was the usual altar. Around the altar were the lizardmen waiting for Gaganpo’s return… staring closely at the direction of the altar.
“I have returned. The food is as you see.”
Together with his words, he raised the three plates in the air for them to see. As the lizardmen saw that, they simultaneously slapped their tails to the ground and let out a large shout of joy.
Immediately, young women approached Gaganpo and took the plates. They took the plates covered in the transparent hide and lined them in front of the elder, and then they carefully peeled the hide away making sure not to tear it. The moment the hide was peeled away, a gentle fragrance drifted out around the area intoxicating the lizardmen.
To the lizardmen, nothing was more precious than this yellow egg dish. When the lizardmen saw it… with a gulp, they swallowed their saliva.
The elder divided the dish with a finely polished black rock knife. Being equal as much as possible. So that everyone could have a bite.
What spilled out of the first plate of omelettes was a simple stir-fry of thinly minced meat and oranie. The deliciousness of thinly minced meat that was simply seasoned with salt and pepper, the faint sweetness from the oranie, the distinct flavor of the eggs and the red substance made it easy to enjoy the ingredients.
What spilled out of the second plate was a stir-fry of white cheese and smoked meat. The human food that had a unique flavor known as cheese and the smoked meat that was salted after it was smoked were both things with rich flavors that couldn’t be tasted in the wetlands. The smoked meat had a flavor that couldn’t be found on regular grilled meat, and the way the cheese melted in your mouth gave a wonderful sensation.
Finally, what spilled out of the third plate was white cream with a tinge of sweetness to it and small, pink schripe. The cream had the ‘sweetest’ flavor out of the three, and the schripe had a tender flavor to it.
While the smell of the three omelettes made them close their eyes, the lizardmen started to worry. In order to share it with everyone, they could only eat one of them. Which one should they eat? It would’ve been good if they could eat all three. While holding on to that feeling, they waited for the elder to give her permission. And finally.
“You may eat.”
Seriously, using her privilege from dividing up the omelettes to go ahead and grab a serving of the cheese omelette, the elder gave her permission, and at the same time, the lizardmen rushed towards the plates as if they were competing to take some of the divided omelettes. Smaller than the palm of their hands, it was only a small amount of omelette. However, this was a delicacy that the lizardmen could only enjoy once out of every seven days, and to the lizardmen born in the blue-tailed tribe, it was a treasure nothing else could compare to.
One of them ate it in one bite, another one ate it little by little to savor the delicacy, closing their eyes in happiness as they slapped their tails to the ground.
However, the one person who did not draw close to the plates and watched from afar was Gaganpo. With the hero’s special right, Gaganpo, who could eat his stomach’s full of omelette rice, wasn’t given any omelettes. At that, Gaganpo was a little disappointed while he thought.
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(It’s almost the season for the festival.)
While looking at the scene in front of him and thinking about the flavor of the omelette rice from before, Gaganpo thought that. The status of being the hero which also let you eat as much omelette rice as you wished was something very popular. How many young men would aim for that status?
But for now, he had no intention of handing it over. Because Gaganpo still hasn’t tasted enough omelette rice.
(Once again, I’ll become the hero. And then…)
Next year I’ll eat a lot of omelette rice.
The blue-tailed tribe’s hero, Gaganpo, while thinking that uncountable times and hardening his resolve, gave one large slam with his tail into the ground.